Coaxial cable, or coax, generally has an inner conductor, or core, surrounded by an inner insulating layer. The insulating layer, in turn, is surrounded by a woven, or braided, conductive shield, which is typically connected to ground. This cable also generally includes an outer insulating layer that covers the braided conductor. Because the inner conductor and the braided conductor share a longitudinal axis, they are said to be coaxial. Such coaxial cables are commonly used as transmission lines for radio frequency (RF) signals, including high speed or high fidelity signals.
To allow the cables to be electrically connected to other components, the ends of the cables are generally terminated with connectors. These cable-terminating connectors may in turn be connected to other connectors. Accordingly, there are many different conventional connectors, which vary based on size, fastening mechanism, and configuration. Examples of different connector types are G3PO, Gore100, and SMPS.
As speed and performance requirements increase for the high speed or high fidelity signals transmitted by the cables, the coaxial connectors are scaled down. These smaller physical structures present challenges with regard to manufacturability, repeatability, and design margin. For example, some conventional micro-scale connectors have flexible fingers that yield, or permanently deform, during a typical insertion and extraction cycle. This can cause intermittent connections, loss of signal or suck-outs, poor performance, and reliability deficiencies.
Embodiments of the invention address these and other issues in the prior art.